Need tips for outdoor ring mount + more

March 19, 2010

Hi, im going to be building myself a pull up bar that can be used to Hook my Xtreme rings up to. I might also add some form of dip station / parallel bars. So before I go and make it Im looking for some design tips.

What is a good height and width for the bar to be to use rings effectively ? (Im 1.7m tall if that makes a diff).

Im going to try and make it removable so I was thinking of short piece of square bar in the ground with concrete and then the uprights out of a smaller square bar that fits snug inside.

As for the parallel bars im thinking of making it so that I can just attach a lower bar between the uprights as one side and then some sort of feet on the other, suggestions welcome.

Whats a good diameter pipe for pullups ( does bigger helps with grip strength more ? )

As above but for the parallel bars.

I can build it above a section of concrete/ the lawn dunno if it makes much diff.

Is there something else im missing that could easily be built on/ incorporated at the same time ?

Here is a bad paint picture below of what I am planning.

A: Concrete

B: Square bar slightly larger than C

C: Square Bar

D: Round bar

E: Square bar welded to hold a removable cross bar

F: Dip/parallel bars

G: some sort of feet for the bars

My reach is 2.1 meters so say 2.3 for some leeway plus length of ring cable

In pics 1-3 what I am trying to figure out is do I need to make it so I can go from hanging to a handstand without adjusting the ring cable length (1) or make it so I can do either but have to change the cable length(2 and 3) .

If its 1 then I am guessing Ill need it to be 4.6 meters high which seems pretty high and gets me wondering if the whole design would be strong enough, it also makes it pretty hard to use for pullups without a ladder/ another lower removable bar( which in someways could be cool to change diameters with the swop of a pole).

As for width my arm span is about 1.6 -> 1.7 how much extra space ie how long should D be roughly ? I did see in another thread that width between the rings should be about 50cm.

How long should the parallel bars be ?

Any tips are welcome and once I get the design straight and build it Ill post some pics.

March 19, 2010

You'll need a pretty massive station with your design to accommodate crosses and hanging to handstand.

Here's an idea that will allow you to make it smaller if you need to.

This is a top down view.

The reason the pipes on top come in is because the pull up bar needs to be wider than the distance between the rings otherwise you might scrape your shoulders on the sides and you couldn't do wide arm pullups.

The pipes on top for the rings come out in front so that you have room for crosses, and there is a gap in between for your feet which means it doesn't have to be as tall.

Just an idea.

March 19, 2010

Thanks trianglechoke7 thats an awesome idea

March 22, 2010

Hey Jeff,

I too built an outdoor gym, though mostly with wood I cut myself . I've also learned a lot from my mistakes that I hope can help you.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3180

For your chin up bar, the height really depends on what you will be using more. If you plan on using the bar more and sometimes your rings, go for 8 or 9 feet. If you only plan on using you rings, more height is better, but then you will need a ladder to use the bar. Unless you are a very advanced gymnast, I would recommend the former. I hung my ring from my 8 foot tall loft rafters (i'm 1,8m tall), and that was plenty for my exercises for a good 6 months and beyond (I don't live in a tipi any more). I don't think height is too much of an issue for your first year until you have solid levers and L sits on solid surfaces. In terms of width, I wouldn't go past five feet. Your rings will be hanging 18 inches apart, and unless you plan on working the iron cross any time soon you won't need the distance. Anything past 6 feet may cause you stability issues, but I am not a professional carpenter, so I am not too sure. Finally the thickness of the bar should be between 1 and 1 1/2 inches in diameter and metal. Anything larger will work your wrists more but you can squeeze every muscle in your body tighter with smaller diameter bars.

For the parallel bars, make sure they are separated by 18 to 22 inches. I made mine somewhere around 25 inches, and that was just too big for exercises like russian dips that are crucial in the muscle up progression. I'd recommend 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter for the PBs. If you have the ends hang over by a foot, you could use them as a dipping station. I think 7- 8 foot long PBs should be good with the bases one foot from each end. Just make sure the PBs are level.

For the foundation, here is my advice. Now, I have never been to south Africa before and do not know what the soil is like, but if it is anything like Colorado's arid/ semi-arid climate, digging can be tough but the dirt will provide a solid foundation. You may not need concrete if you use green treated 4x4s and dig 18 inches-2 feet into the ground with a post-hole digger. four your structures higher than 6 feet, try digging to 3 feet. A professional architect and carpenter taught me that one. Fill the holes by alternating small stones and dirt, and you will have a plenty solid foundation. That's what I did and it worked great. Just make sure your wood is treated or rot will be your greatest threat to your safety. You can do this for both the PBs and Chin-up bar.

Believe it or not I will be living in S Africa for three months very soon, and be able to provide you with more help then. I will be in the far northeastern region.

Good luck!

May 16, 2010

Finally made some progress, I brought 12 meters of 50mm square tube 2mm thick . Used 4m for each upright and 2m for the arms. Spent a day cutting and welding. Here are a few pics of how it looks so far. Will take a few more next weekend once its up properly. There is some more bracing that I don't have pics of yet. Decided to use u-bolts to bolt it to our swing so I didn't need to use concrete or put up a permanent structure.